Archives for December 7, 2008

“Over the past year, the Buffalo Sabres have had a pipeline of quality defensive players move up from the AHL and immediately contribute. The hallmark of these defensemen, like Andrej Sekera and Mike Weber, has been intelligent, responsible play in their zone. The next player in the line of succession is Portland Pirates defenseman Chris Butler.”

‘Ultimately, though, coaching has been the least of their problems. The sooner his players realize as much, the better off they’ll be because Ruff isn’t going anywhere. After all, there aren’t better coaches out there who are available. The organization’s job now is finding better players.’

‘”They’ve always supported me my whole life, and I knew they would really like that, especially since it was their anniversary,” Gerbe said Saturday, hours before he made his NHL debut against Tampa Bay. “It was definitely a good present for them, and they were really excited and can’t wait to watch.”‘

‘The teams entered the third period tied at 3-3, and neither could score until Roy struck near the midway point of the frame. He got the puck in the slot, turned around and wristed the puck under Smith’s arm to give Buffalo the lead with 9:57 left in the game.’

‘With seven total goals, 58 combined penalty minutes and three fights, this game proved to be one worth watching. The Sabres winning helps boost any game’s entertainment value, but this game was exciting to watch throughout. The Sabres had the lead four times tonight. The first three times saw the Lightning score goals almost immediately after the Sabres netted their goals. There were some good saves by goaltenders Ryan Miller and Mike Smith along the way and plenty of hits and scrums to keep you on the edge of your seat.’